Crystal Skate

If figure skating were a job you had to apply for, the ideal candidate would have to be more than just a skater. They'd have to also fulfill all the following requirements: talent, creativity, hard work, flair and an eye for detail. On their CV, under skills, they'd probably put: great taste in music, masterful presentation skills, ability to choose a great costume, lots of charisma and, yes, of course, outstanding skating skills. Anyone lacking one of these attributes would not even be called for an interview. In the real world though, there is no such thing as an ideal figure skater, which is why we end up with bits and pieces of perfection spread all over the place rather than concentrated in one athlete. The best programme, the best costume, the best choreography, the best music choice, the best jumps, the best spins, the best presentation, etc. cannot all be found in one place. That's why it is no surprise that the best costume worn this season by a man in the free s...

Scott Moir was once asked what the atmosphere was like in the men's locker rooms. He replied that there is a camaraderie between the boys most of the time which springs from them making fun of each other's costumes. Even though Scott could only speak for the ice dancers, it's not hard to imagine that single skaters are also having a laugh at their opponents' (and their own) outfits. Most men, as a rule, don't give as much importance to fashion as women do. So you can imagine that with no partner fussing about what they are going to wear, most male skaters don't stress too much over their costumes. A lot of them settle for a plain jumpsuit or a black tie attire - something comfortable that makes them look decent. There are certain themes though for which 'decent' doesn't do it. That's when things get interesting. Can't you just picture some of them cringe at themselves in the mirror? Soundtracks, musicals and operas are usually the genres ...

What makes figure skating such an interesting sport is that it allows athletes to express themselves through the music they skate to. Whether they're rebels or dashing gentlemen, classy ladies or cheeky girls, all skaters share a bit of their personalities or at least their tastes in music each time they skate. This makes figure skating more diverse than any other sport in the world, and that shines through in the costumes. The free skate (or long programme) is the most important part of the competition. Each skater wants to bring out their best and most impressive skills in the free skate. The costumes are a big part of that, especially in the ladies' competition, where skaters are expected to look impeccable. As far as the ladies' free skate goes, this season has been very good to fashion. From Kanako Murakami's suggestive  Phantom of the Opera costume to Ashley Wagner's perfect copy of the famous red dress worn by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge , we were not d...

In 1902, a Londoner decided to enter the figure skating World Championships, thus becoming the first professional female figure skater and prompting the ISU to create a separate discipline for women. Her name was Madge Syers and she competed wearing ankle-long skirts, cotton shirts and hats. I wonder what she'd say if she saw some of today's costumes... Madge was able to wear heavy, layered outfits because she didn't perform a lot of elements, but as figure skating took flight and the women's discipline became more difficult, female skaters had to gradually lose fabric to be able to perform. Nowadays, there is a science to how the ladies' costumes are made. They have to be aerodynamic, in other words to allow air to flow easily so that they can move freely and jump. That doesn't mean they cannot be absolutely gorgeous though. The ladies have complete freedom to choose the themes of both their routines, which means that they can wear whatever they want. T...

Sometimes more is less, and although this doesn't usually apply to figure skating ('the more spectacular, the better' is how the motto goes here), this saying certainly seems to summarise the ice dancers' approach to their free dance costumes this season. Choosing to dial down the theatrics in the free dance might have been a consequence of this being the first season after the Olympic Games. Skaters tried so hard to impress last season, that they might have felt they needed to take a breather this time around. Or perhaps they kept it simple because the paso doble was flamboyant enough to draw attention on its own. Whatever the reason, this season was, costume-wise, one of the plainest. There were a few exemptions from the rule, of course, and they stood out like gems in a bowl of rocks. That's not to say that the simpler costumes were ugly, even ordinary rocks have their own wild-sort-of-beauty after all, but they simply couldn't compare to the more sophist...

Ever since Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet that 'the apparel oft proclaims the man', this phrase has been circling the globe, confusing people as to whether they should translate it into modern English as 'clothes make the man,' which is what it means literally, or 'clothes don't make the man,' which is what Shakespeare truly meant. Figure skating has distanced itself from this dilemma as it can only translate it as  'the costumes always make the figure skater.' Costumes are as significant in figure skating as they are in theatre because both skaters and actors put on a performance and often play a role. So if an actor cannot play Hamlet in a clown costume, neither can a figure skater skate to its soundtrack in one. To celebrate the beauty and originality of figure skating costumes, I decided to write a series of blog entries which take a look at the best and worst costumes of the glorious season that has just ended. The best costumes in figure skati...

The odds are incredibly high for Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez and Denis Ten, who are currently occupying the three podium positions. While the Japanese will look to keep his World title, the Spanish will want to upgrade last season's bronze, going head-to-head against the Khazakh. Good luck! Maxim Kovtun 's problems with the quad Toeloop continue; they might need to have a chat because for whatever reason, he can't land it. He also steps out of the triple Axel, but otherwise his performance is on the up since yesterday. His score: 159.98 . Overall: 230.70 . Nam Nguyen, the event's underdog Source: Xiaolu Ghu/Getty Images Asia What a performance from Nam Nguyen ! The Canadian training alongside the top two contenders enjoys himself out there, which sends off a nice vibe to everyone watching. La Strada  is a story dominated by two opposite genres - comedy and tragedy - and he pulls both of them off fabulously. One detail of the choreography that gets my attentio...